Seattle Prep’s Joe Hardy sets course record, advances to Districts

Seattle Prep cross country runner Hardy proved why he’s one of the best this Thursday at the Metro League championships at Lower Woodland in Greenlake.

Hardy ran the 5K course in under 15 minutes – 14:56.87 to be exact – a course record. He finished in first place, helping Seattle Prep to a second-place finish and an advancement to Districts.

Nathan Hale’s team finished in first place, but the first Nathan Hale runner to finish, Andrew Foerder, finished about 37 seconds behind Hardy.

Hardy is currently ranked as a top cross country runner in the nation, consistently running in the 15-minute range. Earlier this season, in late September, he got second place in the Stanford Invitational with 14:58, just tenths of seconds behind Blake Haney of Kern Valley High School in California.

According to athletic.net, that time tied Hardey and Haney at No. 6 on the list of best marks this season for boys cross country runners in the nation.

His time Thursday – his best 5K time of his Panthers career – put him at No. 5 on athletic.net’s list of best marks for this high school season. He’s the only runner from Washington state in the top 15.

In the top 50, there are five runners from Washington state including Hardy: Gig Harbor’s Wolfgang Beck is at No. 16, Taylor (Kai) Wilmot is tied for No. 22, Gig Harbor’s Logan Carroll is No. 25 and Gig Harbor’s Tristan Peloquin is at No. 47.